Vinayak Raut ‘offers to make Gadkari PM if he joins INDIA’

Raut claimed there was a plot by the BJP central leadership to finish-off Mr. Gadkari’s political career as he was viewed as a serious contender for the PM’s post

File picture of Vinayak Raut, Shiv Sena leader | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Vinayak Raut on Sunday urged Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Gadkari to join the opposition INDIA bloc. He said the UBT would strive to make Mr. Gadkari the next prime minister.

Speaking in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district, Mr. Raut, who represents the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency, further claimed there was a plot by the BJP central leadership to finish-off Mr. Gadkari’s political career as the latter was viewed as a serious contender for the PM’s post.

Plot to ruin Gadkari

“He [Mr. Gadkari] is the one capable leader whom the State and country look up to with great hope. As he is a strong contender for the PM’s post, the BJP’s central leadership wish to ruin him. There are several people in Maharashtra who revere Mr. Gadkari. It is my personal opinion that he should not remain under such pressure, but ought to come and join the INDIA bloc,” said Mr. Raut, adding that Maharashtra would foil the alleged conspiracy to end Mr. Gadkari’s career.

“Mr. Gadkari, why are you afraid? Come over to the INDIA alliance... we will not rest until you are made the Prime Minister. Even Uddhav Thackeray will give you his word.”

Mr. Raut, one of the handful of Thackeray loyalists left in the Lok Sabha following the vertical split in the Shiv Sena, claimed that Mr. Gadkari, the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister, was being deliberately ‘framed’ by the BJP central leadership in a recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) which alleged massive mismanagement in the construction of the Dwarka Expressway project.

Gadkari faces scrutiny

Mr. Gadkari, on Saturday, had rejected the CAG’s claims of funding mismanagement on the Dwarka Expressway project which alleged that a whopping ₹250 crore had been spent per kilometre.

Meanwhile, the Sena (UBT)’s ally, the Congress, gave a guarded reply to Mr. Raut’s offer to Mr. Gadkari.

“The INDIA bloc have several Prime Ministerial candidates. This may be Mr. Raut’s personal opinion,” said Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole.

The BJP laughed off Mr. Raut’s statement, with Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule stating that Mr. Gadkari had dedicated his whole life to his party.